The Spread.

Luscher's And ZaLat Offer Deals To Celebrate Milestones, And Dirk Nowitzki Gets His Own Burger.

Welcome to The Spread, our weekly feature that aims to share all the area restaurant, food and beverage industry news that's fit to print. Except, this is the Internet, so space isn't a concern. Also: Good thing, because this is Dallas and this town always has breaking restaurant news going down like whoa.

Let's put this news up front: Deep Ellum frankfurter favorite Luscher’s Red Hots is celebrating both its one-year anniversary and Texas Independence Day today with $1 hot dogs. The deal includes the classic post oak red hots, Kraut Dogs and Depression Dogs (a smoked frank on a poppy seed bun, topped with yellow mustard, piccalilli, onions, sport peppers and French fries). The offer takes place until 8:30 p.m, so get on it.

Also good news for your wallet is the promotion being run on Monday, March 7, by the folks from ZaLat Pizza. To celebrate the opening of its third overall store and second in Plano (this newest one coming at the northwest corner of Legacy and Independence Parkway), all three spots will be serving 14-inch pizza for $3 to anyone who comes in and makes a walk-in order for one.

Moving forward, the opening of Kitchen LTO's sixth installment goes down tonight. Chef Nick Amoriello (So & So's, Central 214) will offer up a menu focusing on classic French techniques in a contemporary, but comfortable setting. Expect items like buffalo fried quail and smoked antelope ribs in a juniper barbecue sauce. Dinner kicks off at 5 p.m., with brunch service beginning this weekend, and lunch the following week.

Meanwhile, the upscale Oak Lawn restaurant Dish recently closed its doors to be transformed into Cedar Grove. The new concept will be a “dressed down” casual bar/restaurant version of its predecessor, according to Sarah Blaskovich of GuideLive. The report notes that the Preston Hollow location of Dish will remain, while the owners look to reopen another outpost in a different Dallas neighborhood sometime next year. An opening for Cedar Grove is slated for May.

In other moving news, a reboot of Greenville Avenue’s defunct Monterrey Restaurant called La Feria is slated to resurface in Fair Park.
Per CultureMap, the new location will feature familiar items from the old Monterrey with a menu of Northern and Central Mexican cuisine, alongside a full bar and a walk-up window for street tacos. No news on an opening date as of yet.

Also moving in a sense is the beloved food truck venture Truck Yard, which is expanding by opening a second location in Fort Worth. As reported by SideDish’s Catherine Downes, the new concept will be called Crystal Springs in honor of the historic Crystal Springs Dance Pavilion, considered the birthplace of western swing. The bar/restaurant/music venue will feature food and drink offerings that are similar to the Dallas location. Look for an opening this fall.

Speaking of new bars: CultureMap reports that a new spot called East Bound and Down Ice House is coming to Ross Avenue, thus furthering the development of this Old East Dallas strip from a car repair shop haven to an honest-to-goodness commercial area. Expect memorabilia-heavy decor at the Smokey and the Bandit-themed spot, which comes from a tandem of Deep Ellum barkeeps who've put in stints at Wit's End, Reno's Chop Shop, July Alley, Elm Street Bar, Galaxy Club and Club Dada.

Oh, and on the topic of revered cultural figures: The Dallas Mavericks and American Airlines Center executive chef Mark Mabry have created a new Dirk Nowitzki-themed burger to be sold at concessions stands during the team's home games. The $12 burger, which officially started being sold at the arena on Tuesday, was designed with input from the Big German himself and sounds about as tasty as a Dirk fadeaway: It's a 1/3-pound burger on Bavarian pretzel bun, topped with jalapeno beer cheese, bacon onion marmalade, arugula and mustard horseradish aioli, served with a side of French fries.

Onto craft beer news: Trinity Groves resident brewery Four Corners Brewing Co. is moving to The Cedars. The move will allow the brewers to expand production and own a new two-acre property, per the Dallas Morning News' Robert Wilonsky. The new space will include a tap room, event space and potential retail partners. Construction is slated to begin in May, with the move set to take place in early 2017.

Then there's Grapevine Craft Brewery, which has teamed up with Deep Ellum Brewing Co. to try and change state laws that prohibit customers from buying beer directly from breweries. The company is now circulating a petition to support its case.

And, in actually sip-worthy news, The Bearded Monk in Denton is hosting a home brew challenge on Saturday, March 5. Brewers will be challenged to create their own version of the Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits Homework Series #6, and given a month to prepare. The judging will take place on Friday, April 8.

Cover photo by Kathy Tran. Got a tip for The Spread? Email us!